Our approach: producing less and better

Within the last few years, the fashion industry has started to be very sensitive about the consequences of overproduction (mainly from social and ecological perspectives). Umbrellas illustrate perfectly this phenomenon, especially mini-umbrellas which could almost be a symbol of our throwaway consumer behaviour. In France and worldwide, we have developed a relatively recent habit of purchasing a cheap, poor quality umbrella, breaking or losing it, then replacing it by another ”disposable” umbrella… and so on and so forth. This is how hundreds of millions of poor-quality umbrellas are produced unnecessarily each year.

Have you ever heard: “Anyway, I always lose my umbrellas somewhere, so why should I pay a lot for them?”

This is the trend that Anatole wishes to reverse by combatting overproduction and overconsumption.

We design our umbrellas in Paris and we have chosen to produce them with the best folding mini-umbrella manufacturer in the world. The entire manufacturing know-how for folding umbrella frames and mechanisms is based in China. Our partner is an ISO 9001 factory and has the amfori BSCI certification (an organization which launches audits in order to measure the eco-responsible capacities of international companies).

Furthermore, when choosing our suppliers, we always consider the social and environmental impact of our decisions. For example: Our point of sales displays in France are created with French and European wood. Our logistics platform was chosen for its genuine eco-responsible approach, aiming to pack all of their customers’ orders with almost no vacant space and with the least possible plastic. Our umbrellas travel from from Asia by train to reduce our carbon footprint…

It is crucial for Anatole to maintain the momentum of our early days, namely to foster healthy business (both online and offline), where frenetic consumerism is highly discouraged.

This is why we create partnerships with stockists who also contribute to promoting responsible consumption. We favour retailers with whom we share the love of gorgeous, designed-to-last and quality products. Also, knowing and feeling that our partners really put human relations and wellbeing at the centre of staff management, purchase decisions and sales strategies is of very high value to us.

Access our worldwide stockist list here